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Posted: 5/15/2021 11:38:17 PM EDT
Hello ARFCOM,
Recently I purchased a breach thermal, all was well the first time I powered it on. Then, when I tried to turn it on after that first time, it wouldn't. I tried 5 different types of CR123 batteries and they would work SOMETIMES. They would never boot up consecutively, regardless of battery chosen. So, I then tried using an external battery with the USB-C port, nothing happened, dead. Right now I tried each battery and it still does not power on. Is there something stupid I am missing? If anyone knows anything I'd greatly appreciate it, I want to go hunt coyote with it  |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 12:03:16 AM EDT
[#1]
I only have experience with one of them, but I know that actual cr123 battery life is more like 20 minutes. If you do not turn it off, then it will probably get you much closer to the stated run time. But if you turn it off after about 20 minutes, it will not turn back on.
You will need a brand new battery to turn it back on. Failing that, I dunno. I added the Mod Armory battery extender on mine, and now don't have these headaches. The extender, plus the necessary batteries and charger will set you back another $115 or so. The thing is barely usable without it, imo. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 12:36:19 AM EDT
[#2]
One thing I should add is that I've never had probably more than 5 minutes on the thing - when I rotated the 5ish different batteries I would power them on, turn them off, then try and turn it back on - to no avail.
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Posted: 5/16/2021 9:17:44 AM EDT
[#3]
Couple things to note- if your new to thermal the startup does take a little time.
Unfortunately there is more and more off spec CR123s on the market or so it would appear. The Breach seems to have just enough room in the battery compartment to where if the cap isn't not on VERY tight there can be some movement which evidently can power off the unit. This coming from customers reporting the off/on issue when looking up or looking down. Once they went to an external power pack this stopped altogether. Would highly advise anyone using a breach or intending on using a breach to either run an external power pack or the ModArmory battery extender. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 11:01:31 AM EDT
[#4]
I was going to mention the battery cap as well, make sure it's on tight.
I know the external battery pack is the preferred way to go on these but I never used one. Seemed like it would be a pain for my use case so I always just used CR123s. If I remember correctly I'd typically get maybe 40-45 minutes out of a battery, give or take. ETA: A battery extender would have worked for me too, I just never got there and now have a Nox18 with battery extender. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 11:16:01 AM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Couple things to note- if your new to thermal the startup does take a little time. Unfortunately there is more and more off spec CR123s on the market or so it would appear. The Breach seems to have just enough room in the battery compartment to where if the cap isn't not on VERY tight there can be some movement which evidently can power off the unit. This coming from customers reporting the off/on issue when looking up or looking down. Once they went to an external power pack this stopped altogether. Would highly advise anyone using a breach or intending on using a breach to either run an external power pack or the ModArmory battery extender. Yep, I would hold down the power button >8 seconds just to see. Typically, when it actually would, it would power on through a button press after maybe 2s. I tried tightening it down (used pliers to get it to go a little bit more than my fingers could) to no avail. I have the coarse threads, so its a more up-to-date unit. I have that battery extender on the way with one of those special batteries to see if that solves the issue. The one thing your comment brings up to me is this, why would an anker external battery pack not power it up when connected to the USB-c port on the breach unit? I tried that, no turn on, I listened for a static buzz and I could hear it, so power appears to be getting in there.  I appreciate the comments! |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 11:52:10 AM EDT
[#6]
on the flir m18 the neg battery cap has a wide round contact and with some batteries the plastic film on the battery needs cutting back or it stops contact - could be why some batteries work and some not , but i dont know if flir use the same type of cap in the breach
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Posted: 5/16/2021 12:12:08 PM EDT
[#7]
Quote HistoryQuoted: on the flir m18 the neg battery cap has a wide round contact and with some batteries the plastic film on the battery needs cutting back or it stops contact - could be why some batteries work and some not , but i dont know if flir use the same type of cap in the breach This is one thing I hadn't tried, so I cut back the plastic to see. It started up 3 times consecutively - then I took out the battery and put it back in, no power. Tried a different battery, cut its plastic back - no power. Could there be some latent static or something? Maybe it just doesn't play nicely with off the shelf cr123s. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 1:29:47 PM EDT
[#8]
Your shit is not working right....call Flir. That is going to be your only fix, and the only right move....it should not be crazyness just getting it to turn on like that, no way.
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Posted: 5/16/2021 1:34:15 PM EDT
[#9]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Your shit is not working right....call Flir. That is going to be your only fix, and the only right move....it should not be crazyness just getting it to turn on like that, no way. Agreed...OP, if you ordered from us, feel free to give us an email. We can run interference if need be and oh BTW, welcome to the ARFCOM! 
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Posted: 5/16/2021 1:52:36 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Agreed...OP, if you ordered from us, feel free to give us an email. We can run interference if need be and oh BTW, welcome to the ARFCOM! Thanks gentleman, I will give FLIR a call tomorrow. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 2:05:48 PM EDT
[#11]
I had some power problems with mine right out the box. Flir sent me an RMA and the turnaround time was about a month. They sent me a replacement.
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Posted: 5/16/2021 4:13:05 PM EDT
[#12]
Are the Breaches problematic as a rule? I don’t want to buy something that’s I can’t rely on
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Posted: 5/16/2021 5:01:35 PM EDT
[#13]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Are the Breaches problematic as a rule? I don’t want to buy something that’s I can’t rely on Not overly no, but I mentioned the couple of problems we have seen with them. 90% or better revolves around CR123 use. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 8:15:18 PM EDT
[#14]
My Breach had the exact same problem. Brand new, one time use, powered up no problem. Sat for a month, tried to use it .... dead.
Got an RMA from Flir. Total turn around time was 3 weeks. (forgot to remove my k-clip.  , returned intact)Repair ticket states ... Micro-display failure causing blank screen when unit is powered on. Removed and replaced FLCoS micro-display module and keypad PCB. New CR123 battery installed, unit tested. Problem corrected. *Fingers crossed, holding breath every use now. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 8:48:50 PM EDT
[#15]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Couple things to note- if your new to thermal the startup does take a little time. Unfortunately there is more and more off spec CR123s on the market or so it would appear. The Breach seems to have just enough room in the battery compartment to where if the cap isn't not on VERY tight there can be some movement which evidently can power off the unit. This coming from customers reporting the off/on issue when looking up or looking down. Once they went to an external power pack this stopped altogether. Would highly advise anyone using a breach or intending on using a breach to either run an external power pack or the ModArmory battery extender. I'll second this, cheap shit CR123s can present a fitment problem. Haven't had a problem with Surefire CR123s or the Fenix 700 mAh 16340s. I got the Mod Armory battery extender and while it works that giant dildo on the end gets a little unwieldy. I used it for about a week before I went back to 123s/16340s as despite the short runtime, it's still fine for occasional handheld use. For headmounted usage, I got an Anker PowerCore 13000 battery pack in a FirstSpear battery pocket, wired up via a Volta 2.0 right angle USB-C magsafe charging cable. Absolutely perfect system, and the Anker battery pack runs the Breach for a couple of months of occasional use between charges. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 10:05:14 PM EDT
[#16]
I’ll piggyback off this thread as I just purchased a Breach today and have a question I can’t seem to answer about power.
I know a lot of people tend to use the battery extender to increase the run time or the external TNVC battery pack. Will any external battery pack with a USB C cable work with the breach or will I have to stick with the TNVC? Edit: Answered my own question. The TNVC pack is just an ANKER battery.... would have helped to look at the pictures for longer than ten seconds! |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 10:14:31 PM EDT
[#17]
I guess the new ones need coarse threads for the extender?
Looking to buy one as soon as I am sure. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 11:40:14 PM EDT
[#18]
Quote HistoryI guess the new ones need coarse threads for the extender? Yes new ones are coarse thread, also this seems to have fixed a lot of the battery related failures. |
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Posted: 5/16/2021 11:53:28 PM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted: I guess the new ones need coarse threads for the extender? Looking to buy one as soon as I am sure. They sell a version for each. |
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Posted: 5/17/2021 11:03:55 AM EDT
[#20]
Quote HistoryQuoted: My Breach had the exact same problem. Brand new, one time use, powered up no problem. Sat for a month, tried to use it .... dead. Got an RMA from Flir. Total turn around time was 3 weeks. (forgot to remove my k-clip. , returned intact)Repair ticket states ... Micro-display failure causing blank screen when unit is powered on. Removed and replaced FLCoS micro-display module and keypad PCB. New CR123 battery installed, unit tested. Problem corrected. *Fingers crossed, holding breath every use now. Specifically, I had tried: duracell, energizer, streamlight, nuon, and rayovac. None worked. I also tried plugging it in with an ANKER external battery. It sounds like it is busted akin to the other fellow in this thread. I'll be setting up an RMA or returning it to my LGS, when I get a reason for the defect I will update everyone. It really is a cool device, but if it doesn't power on 
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Posted: 5/17/2021 12:17:55 PM EDT
[#21]
Quote HistoryQuoted: Specifically, I had tried: duracell, energizer, streamlight, nuon, and rayovac. None worked. I also tried plugging it in with an ANKER external battery. It sounds like it is busted akin to the other fellow in this thread. I'll be setting up an RMA or returning it to my LGS, when I get a reason for the defect I will update everyone. It really is a cool device, but if it doesn't power on Yeah, as said, you shouldn't have to screw around with it that much to get it to power on. Something is clearly wrong. Only ever used CR123s in mine and never had problems like that. Admittedly I've only ever used one battery that you didn't list, Surefire. |
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Posted: 5/17/2021 3:56:21 PM EDT
[#22]
One thing that I should mention, and at least a couple others here have experienced this-
Mine acted flakey, and sometimes wouldn't turn on (possibly for reasons besides the battery issue). Someone suggested reformatting it. Worked immediately. So, if you can manage to get it started again, you might want to try that. It took just a few minutes, and saved weeks of down-time if I had sent it in. |
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Posted: 5/18/2021 9:56:32 AM EDT
[#23]
Quote HistoryQuoted: One thing that I should mention, and at least a couple others here have experienced this- Mine acted flakey, and sometimes wouldn't turn on (possibly for reasons besides the battery issue). Someone suggested reformatting it. Worked immediately. So, if you can manage to get it started again, you might want to try that. It took just a few minutes, and saved weeks of down-time if I had sent it in. For purposes of anyone else reading this thread - I did actually do just that, and it did not fix any of the device symptoms. |
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Posted: 5/18/2021 10:51:48 AM EDT
[#24]
Thanks for the update to the thread. I have one coming so this thread is relevant to me and I appreciate your feedback.
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Posted: 5/18/2021 5:21:18 PM EDT
[#25]
In all fairness to Flir. Even though I got a turd, their customer service and turnaround time was excellent.
This was also during the Covid fiasco. |
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Posted: 5/19/2021 2:10:37 PM EDT
[#26]
Quote HistoryQuoted: In all fairness to Flir. Even though I got a turd, their customer service and turnaround time was excellent. This was also during the Covid fiasco. Teledyne recently purchased FLIR. What does this mean for the American consumer market? Will we see less products and support? |
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Posted: 6/1/2021 8:50:26 PM EDT
[#27]
For anyone still wondering, I received the unit back from the RMA (very prompt I might add). The issue came down to a faulty "power distribution unit", according to the person who fixed it. It was replaced. Now it works every time.
Overall, FLIR took care of the issue quickly. Cheers
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Posted: 6/1/2021 9:01:01 PM EDT
[#28]
Thanks for the update. Mine came in today, trying to figure out the optimal settings. Of course it would be raining.
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